http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3497480.stm
A US woman has been charged with forgery after trying to use a fake $1 million bill at a supermarket.
Alice Pike, 35, pulled out the note at a Georgia Wal-Mart store to pay for $1,672 worth of goods and asked for change, police said.
That was down in Covington, GA. General Sherman had a lover in Covington. They say, that because of that fact, even though it was right in his path, he spared the city from burning on his march to the sea. Itâs really a beautiful little town.
There is no such thing as a million dollar bill, so how can one âforgeâ something that doesnât exist? I donât think this charge will stand up upon further scrutiny.
Now-- maybe there should be a charge for being dumb. I could support that.
Tres
Not forgery, but if theyâre in a really pissy mood they could make a fraud or attempted theft by deception charge stick. Hopefully, theyâll simply send the woman to the shrink she really needs. Clearly sheâs playing solitaire with a 51-card deck.
Story and good pics at Yahoo!:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&e=1&u=/ap/million_dollar_bill
And she thought they could make change for that?
Its like a Clamper gag. Ha. Especially, the seal, with âThe Right To Bear Armsâ encircledâŚ
The whole event is almost more like Performance Art than a crimeâŚ
And, doesnât every store have $998,400 on hand in change??
Well, Wal-Mart might!!
Tom
Cherchez la fame?
Today, the famed janral would be charged at least with:
I was totally shocked when I saw the picture of the âmoneyâ. My stepson gave me one of those bills as a gag birthday giftâŚsaying I was worth a Million. Not only was the bill grossly NOT moneyâŚbut it is much smaller than a regular bill. I canât imagine what the poor clerk thought when that woman gave it to her. Yes, itâs too bad they donât give charges for stupidity!!!
I want to know how she was going to fit over $1,500 in groceries in her trailer???
Nancy
Looking at the enlargement of the pic of the 1 Million Dollar Note, I noticed the evidence of folding and wear at its center. That babyâs been carried around long enough to stress it, as if itâd seen a lot of use. Right. No US legal tender would wear so fast, especially of such a denomination. I sure wouldnât carry that around in my pocket if it were legit! Mental state, indeed.
Performance art? Maybe. Her expression is curiously pleased. But I wonder at her hair.
Can you say âCrystal Methâ?
âŚonly in americaâŚ
:roll:
Iâm thinking someone cheated her by buying something from her with it (and saying, âkeep the change.â) She figured if it was good enough to fake her out, then her cousin at Walmart might fall for it, too. Cut her some slack; maybe, her eyesight isnât that great.
Or, maybe she didnât count the zeroâs correctly and didnât realize it would raise eyebrows. Iâd like to get my hands on a couple of those and send them to a Nigerian who needs good faith money to get the billions out of the country that his diplomat father left in trust, but the government was overthrown and now heâs desolate andâŚHe keeps emailing me and I feel so bad for him.
Tony
(She didnât look like a performance artist, but her stunt would qualify.)
Heâs been emailing you, too?!?
He assured me that he was contacting me in complete confidence and trust!
Best wishes,
Jerry
Jee wiz, Jerry. Showâs how desparate this guy is. Maybe we could pool our resources or start a fundraiser- raffle off a tweaked GenâŚ
Hereâs a followup article on the meeeelion dollar lady on AJC.com:
Alice Pike, the woman who gained national attention with her fake $1 million bill, says itâs all a big misunderstanding.
In an interview Wednesday from the Newton County Jail, Pike said she never intended to use the fake money to try to buy $1,671.55 in clothes from a Covington Wal-Mart.
But she did think the bill was real.
âYou canât keep up with the U.S. Treasury [Department],â said Pike, 35, of Porterdale.
When she was arrested Friday, Pike told police she got the money â which turned out to be a novelty bill that can be bought at a gag shop â from her estranged husband, a coin collector.
Pike said she tried to buy the clothes â T-shirts, shoes, beachwear, beach bags and other items â with two Wal-Mart cards.
But the cashier told Pike she had only a total of $2.32 credit available.
Thatâs when Pike says she pulled a bill from her purse with the image of the Statue of Liberty in the center and â1,000,000â on each corner.
âAll Iâve got is this,â Pike recalled telling the cashier.
âI wasnât trying to pass off the bill,â said Pike. âThatâs ridiculous.â
Wal-Mart, however, offered a different version.
Store management said Pike tried to pay for the items with the fake money and even asked for change, according to a Covington Police Department report.
Police will pass along their findings to District Attorney Ken Wynne, who said he is waiting to see the Police Departmentâs final report before deciding whether to prosecute Pike on charges of first-degree forgery.
Pike, who says she collects disability because of a mental disorder, is being represented by a public defender.
John Strauss, Newtonâs public defender, did not return calls Wednesday.
In the meantime, Pike says sheâs aware of all of the jokes and media attention (the incident was mentioned on the âTodayâ show) that have come her way.
She appeared unfazed.
âItâs the irony of life,â she said. âSomething to write about.â